I WOULD like to add my comments regarding the re-vamping of Bury town centre.

Bury is a compact and progressive town which is more than adequately stocked with shops and markets. It has adequate parking and excellent access to public transport. Only a short time ago, the outdoor market was modernised and a new meat and fish hall added, causing considerable disruption for 12 months.

It has been openly acknowledged by Westfield that the outdoor market boosts shopper numbers: 45 per cent more shoppers on market days, according to their research. Now they want to jeopardise this situation by extending the precinct and moving the market to a new site which they claim is superior.

This is untrue. The new location would mean the market being pushed into a corner, away from visiting customers.

Westfield want the present market site to build a department store on, and to secure a nice, profitable future for themselves. If the site allocated for the new market is so "superior", why don't they want it for their department store?

Customers come from far and wide to visit Bury's famous market and Westfield would destroy this. Contrary to the impression they give, Westfield are not a benevolent society and their only interest in Bury is financial.

The market square, a popular meeting place which gives character to the precinct, would also disappear under Westfield's plans. The reason? The square doesn't make any money; it is wasted space.

According to the recent survey compiled by Westfield, the public are in favour of re-development in the town centre. However, as everyone knows, surveys can be worded to provide the answers required. Do the people of Bury really want three or four years of disruption while the work is going on?

In my experience, when people are inconvenienced over a considerable period, they go elsewhere to shop and often do not return. Who wants to be wading through a building site, with shops in turmoil, while having to put up with one of the town's largest car parks being closed? And what about the traders? They will certainly suffer losses in the meantime.

Bury is justifiably proud that a town of this size can attract so many people. Don't let it be turned into one of those faceless towns where, as one reader put it: "If you didn't know the name of the town, you could be anywhere".

F. H. TREADWELL, Bury.